Industry Assessment Tool

At a Glance

Instructors at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) created an assessment tool and rubric that can be customized to the needs of a specific company, position, or division to identify adult workforce strengths and areas for improvement.

Overview

At CPI, the Emerging Energy & Infrastructure instructors assist local industries with pre- and post-hire employee assessments. They work with the industries to help them make solid hiring decisions and provide them with a neutral, third party assessment of employees’ abilities and skills sets as they relate to job classifications and pay rates.

CPI instructors developed an assessment tool and rubric that companies can tailor to their specific hiring and employee evaluation needs. The skills assessment tool often leads to custom, industry-specific training at CPI.

Origin / Implementation

In 2014, CPI instructors developed an assessment tool to address industry concerns about how to quantify adult employee and non-employee (pre-hire) skill sets. Partner companies found that their standard measure – seniority – was not an accurate or fair measure to determine job classification or pay. In one instance, a multinational mining company included CPI’s assessment in their union agreement and subsequently worked with CPI to develop a custom training program. Successful completion of the assessment and custom training qualifies the company’s employees for a minimum 10% pay increase.

Results / Impact

CPI instructors report many favorable results due to the development and implementation of the assessment tool. They note an increased industry involvement at the school, numerous industry donations to programs related to the training and assessments, and a significant increase in revenue generated from CPI industry training.